Have you ever been to Mount Rushmore? It's impressive and majestic and looks just like it does in pictures. If you haven't been, you can visit vicariously through a friend's IG post, watch National Treasure 2, or just Google "monut rshmo what look like" and you'll get the gist of it. It's a colossal (and unexpectedly far away) mountain sculpture of four former US Presidents, and of course, it's a different experience to be there in person, but if someone sends you a postcard, you're probably set. Now, this post isn't meant to be anti-old white stone men propaganda - rather it's supposed to reinforce why I am in so in love with the Scottish Highlands.
The Highlands are unlike anything I have ever seen before and are easily one of my favorite things we've done in our travels. You could visit the same spot multiple times and never get the same view, weather, lighting, mist, etc. Pictures don't do the landscapes justice, which is kind of nice as it forces you to visit it for yourself. And when you go you may get a greatly different experience to me that was there even hours earlier as the fog rolls in or the sun breaks through the clouds or the sky opens up to dump an offensive amount of rain on top of your tent. We've seen picturesque castles that look like fairy tale movie credit sequences only for the clouds to dramatically shift, and suddenly that same castle is in a horror movie about a kilted murderer. (Kill or Be Kilt ?) Katie asked her stylist for advice on where to go, and she essentially told her that it didn't matter, just get up there because everything is gorgeous. But she also told her that dyeing Luna's tail pink *wasn't* a good idea, so take her advice with a grain of salt.
After visiting Ireland, I implored all future travelers to rent a car and drive across the country to get the full picture of the Emerald Isle: the sprawling hills, the stone walls, the sheep blocking the streets, and the giant GD tourist buses that run you off the road. Same for Scotland. We had multiple trips up there with American visitors (shout out Lisa, Anne and Wayne, Katie and Mags, and Beth!), and each time we were blown away. If you are visiting Edinburgh for more than a few days, make sure some of those days are spent up in the Highlands!
However, next time you're on an American highway, please take a moment to appreciate the shoulder and spacious lanes, because those are gone in Scotland. It's straight up murderville out here. Our first trip up to the Highlands was in a campervan with Lisa, and we would literally have maybe 12 inches on each side of the van and any drifting would either take you straight into oncoming traffic, off a cliff, or into a loch. The speed limits are also insanely high in the Highlands. You'll be in the middle of a massive rainstorm on a winding one lane road that's screaming down a mountain, and they say try to keep it under 60mph. Homie, I'm barely touching 10 at the moment. Also, they use miles here? And kilometers. Pick a lane, Scotland. And then make it wider. And add some shoulders.
Despite the tiny lanes, if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend renting said campervan, as it's a fantastic way to travel and sleep in the Highlands. I love hotels and Katie loves tents so a campervan was a perfect compromise between both of us as I got to sleep on a proper bed and she still gets to shit in the bushes without being arrested again. Win win. Scotland has something called "right to roam" which essentially gives everyone the freedom to walk or camp anywhere as long as you're being respectful. There are some exceptions, like how you're not allowed to unroll your sleeping bags in Holyrood Park or light campfires in the King's garden (or so the police keep telling me). And some places like the Cairngorms or Loch Lomond thankfully limit the number of campers in a section to allow for a better experience, but you're on your own to decide where you set up camp. And if you're cool with parking and lugging your gear a mile off the highway, you basically can pitch your tent wherever you like.
That being said, it can still be difficult to find lochside places as no one wants to advertise their secret spots and occasionally residents will put up illegal(?) "No Trespassing" signs or shout at you with an indiscernible accent until you go somewhere else. But if you're patient, you'll eventually find an amazing place to stay for the night. One of our favorite spots we found was on the Isle of Arran. We first stopped at a proper camping facility with a couple dozen campervans, tents, toilets, and electricity but found that if we kept driving for a few minutes there was a gorgeous hidden spot on the beach at the bottom of a massive staircase. We spent the night there under the stars and never saw a soul until the next morning when a naked old man ran past our tent, diving into the sea. Hell of a wake up alarm.
Speaking of the sea, Katie has discovered this growing community of wild swimmers that go all over Scotland, swimming in its lochs, seas, and bays, so we've, of course, jumped straight into that. We first went wild swimming on Jan 1 as a Scottish New Years tradition, and since then Katie has gone at least once a week and dipped into a river, one devilishly red glen, half a dozen lochs, and a handful of firths, fjords, beaches, and bays! Most notably she completed a 30 swim challenge that culminated in a coordinated synchronized swimming routine with the Edinburgh Bluetits. The water is around 5-10 Celcius (40-50F) and it is quite a shock at first so it is recommended to go in slowly and to only do a few minutes at first. We went for a dip in the sea with our friend Angus and his face literally froze in a scowl and he was unable to open or close his hands for a couple minutes. But he's weak, so that all tracks.
Luna, however, hates it. She loves to swim but doesn't quite know what to do with waves, so she will stand in the water at shin level (do dogs have shins?), staring at us with a worried/annoyed face until we come out. Our go-to swimming location was Portobello Beach, a 45 min walk from our flat, and Luna much prefers to sprint up and down the beach, occasionally splashing into the shallow waters. Shoutout to our other local swim group, Edinburgh Blue Balls, who like the Bluetits, welcomed us with equally open arms, tiny swim briefs, and enormous beards.
We lived in Edinburgh for the last 15 months, and I feel like I was consistently counting down the days to our next Highlands adventure. I cannot wait to return, next time in a much smaller vehicle and ideally on recently widened roads.
Love,
Chris
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